No longer does one have to suffer the rerun blues during the summer months. Summer television programming has been going on for years, and really peaked this summer season. Here's my review of the overall season: the best, worst, and the rest.
BEST
It goes without saying the 2012 Summer Olympics in London caught our collective eyes for two weeks. Veteran stars such as Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt continued to shine. Newcomers such as Gabby Douglas rose up. Plus both the men's and women's basketball teams captured the gold. America once again dominated the medal count.
You also had the ending of another successful season of Swamp People. One half of the Guist twins passed after the show filmed, and other drama happened. However, the show was still exciting, fresh, and full of unexpected twists. New shows Black Dynamite, Anger Management with Charlie Sheen and The American Bible Challenge have really been good and been a breath of fresh air. Anger Management will be back for a second season in January.
Without question, the mini series of the summer was The Hatfields and McCoys on the History channel. Kevin Costner returned to TV to recreate arguably the most epic and famous rivalry in American history.
WORST
Love and Hip Hop Atlanta was nothing but VH-1s latest coon picnic. It seemed, however, on Monday nights, many people couldn't get enough of the ignorant antics of Stevie "Steebie" J, Lil Scrappy, Rasheeda, and the rest. Soul Man on TV Land was also pretty bad. I could not even get past two episodes. It seems Cedric The Entertainer and Niecy Nash are getting too desperate to revive their careers. The new show Love Addiction on TV One wasn't necessarily bad on a coon level. It was bad because it was predictable and clique. It was mostly good women picking bad men, the women's family and friends getting angry about it all, and then staging a love intervention. By the end of the show, the couple had decided to break up. Different couples each episode but basically the same tired storyline and outcome.
Now before you all think, I'm only bashing the black shows, think again. The remake of Dallas was also a flop. Apparently it didn't matter that JR, Sue Ellen and the original cast still alive were on. The younger generation of Ewings simply failed to wow the audience long term. Some classics should simply be left alone.
THE REST
My guilty pleasure this summer was Sullivan and Son. It's a lot like Cheers, except with worse storylines and less dynamic characters. Produced by Vince Vaughn, Steve Sullivan decides to give up his high profile job as a corporate attorney in New York to move home to Pittsburgh and buy his family's bar so they can retire (which they really don't). Classic actors such as Dan Lauria, Brian Doyle-Murray and up and comer Owen Benjamin keep you wanting more.
I tried to get into Breaking Bad. Good show, but I feel behind. I think I will watch the show from the beginning so I can fully understand the backstory.
It seems other popular shows in the past summers, such as So You Think You Can Dance, America's Got Talent, and Single Ladies, have started to fade. Single Ladies was already weak and stereotypical. When Stacey Dash didn't return for this season, that made the show even worse.
These are my views and thoughts. Now I look forward for the new Fall TV lineup and of course football.
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